To start of, I’m not a tech person in the least. I work remotely for an insurance company. I don’t do anything on my work computer that I wouldn’t want my employer to know about. However, I do notice that when I Google something on my work computer, I immediately start getting ads for the product on my personal iPhone (they are on the same Wi-Fi, but I’ve never plugged any personal devices into my laptop). I’m curious how this happens and whether my employer may be able to see other things my family does at home. Are there any things I should or shouldn’t do to protect my privacy?
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So, two questions here.
Yes, your work laptop can spy on you. Programs that monitor your internet usages, keystrokes, even your webcam/microphone exist. Whether or not your company uses them I don’t know, but they _might_.
The Google ad is unrelated. Google knows that someone at your IP address looked up something (i.e. they are interested in it) so they start playing related ads to anyone at that IP, hoping to get you to click on the ad related to what you find interesting. This is **not** something your employer is doing.
Your employer won’t know what anyone else on your IP address is doing.
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